Biden to sell off 1M barrels of gasoline held in reserve to keep prices low before election

Politics

By Steven Nelson

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced Tuesday that it will sell off 1 million barrels of gasoline held in case of emergencies — with the Energy Department explicitly citing an interest in keeping gas prices low over the summer driving season ahead of the November election.

The fuel will be released from the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve, a component of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve that was established in 2014 after Superstorm Sandy disrupted gasoline supplies in the New York City area.

“The Biden-Harris Administration is laser-focused on lowering prices at the pump for American families, especially as drivers hit the road for summer driving season,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement.

“By strategically releasing this reserve in between Memorial Day and July 4th, we are ensuring sufficient supply flows to the tri-state and northeast at a time hardworking Americans need it the most.” 

Critics including congressional Republicans slammed Biden’s move as an attempt to buy votes — after making similar allegations about Biden’s attempt to forgive hundreds of billions of dollars in federally owned student loan debt in the runup to the election.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) accused Biden of “yet again using America’s emergency fuel reserves to cover for his disastrous inflationary policies in an election year.”

“Releasing 1 million barrels of gasoline from the Northeast reserve is a desperate move by Joe Biden to lower prices that HE raised,” tweeted Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.).”This reserve is meant for emergencies, not as a cover-up for Biden’s failed economic policies.”

Skeptics noted that the complete draining of the Northeast reserve, which was authorized in a March government spending bill, was unlikely to significantly impact prices — which currently average $3.60 per regular gallon, up from roughly $2.38 when Biden took office and $3.54 at this time last year, according to AAA data.

The US used about 8.94 million barrels of gasoline per day as of 2023, according to the US Energy Information Administration, meaning that Tuesday’s release would cover fewer than three hours of average US consumption.

“A cynical political move. Like a drop in the ocean,” wrote one X user.

Staten Island Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) tweeted, “He should just reverse his damaging anti-energy policies.”

“Depleting our emergency reserves while discouraging domestic production. Such a winning strategy!” tweeted Gabriella Hoffman, energy and conservation director of the Independent Women’s Forum.

“Under [former President Donald] Trump, it was ‘drill, baby, drill.’ Under Biden, it is ‘drain, baby, drain,’” tweeted Charles Correll III, a speechwriter for Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.).

As Republicans slammed Biden, the White House released a statement Tuesday afternoon arguing that his energy policies focused on promoting environmentally friendly technologies have aided consumers.

“This builds on other actions by President Biden to lower gas and energy costs—including historic releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and the largest-ever investment in clean energy,” said press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

“While Congressional Republicans fight to preserve tax breaks for Big Oil at the expense of hardworking families, President Biden is advancing a more secure, affordable, and clean energy future to lower utility bills while record American energy production helps meet our immediate needs.”

Energy costs are up steeply under Biden — contributing to a broader sweep of price increases that Republicans attribute to the incumbent’s policies and large spending bills. Democrats generally attribute high inflation to factors such as COVID-19 supply chain bottlenecks, the Russia-Ukraine war and alleged corporate greed.

US energy costs are up 38% since Biden took office, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Those costs include a roughly 30% jump in electricity prices.

Overall US consumer costs are up 20% since Biden took office, dragging on his re-election prospects as he faces a Nov. 5 rematch against Trump.

In addition to his pending plans to deplete the gasoline reserve, Biden has drained about 43% of the crude oil held by the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in an attempt to keep prices lower.

The US government reserve held more than 638 million barrels of crude oil when Biden took office. It currently has fewer than 361 million barrels of crude oil, according to federal data.